Five devices that shouldn’t exist

Technological advancements have enhanced every aspect of our lives over the years, but there are some gadgets that make you wonder if we have actually progressed at all. How can a species that created NASA, and have designed life-saving surgical machinery think that’s something like the Flowbee haircutting system is a good idea? While we are responsible for some brilliant inventions, humans are also responsible for some of the most laughter-inducing gadgets imaginable.

Blackberry PlayBook

A very expensive, and short-lived device, the Blackberry PlayBook is a 7-inch tablet that plays films via its HDMI port. However, that is pretty much all it does, failing to allow users to access personal email and other apps unless they attach their Blackberry to the tablet. Unsurprisingly, consumers have not become enamoured with this device and it has been declared a failure.

Hoverboards

Just when we thought we really had gone back to the future, we were disappointed to learn that the board didn’t hover, but rolled along the ground on wheels. Even worse, there were multiple cases of Hoverboards suddenly catching fire while being charged, and even while people were riding on them. This was an extremely short-lived 2015 craze.

Oakley Thump Sunglasses

Unattractive, and expensive, this bulky eyewear was merely a combination of sunglasses and an MP3 player. When the sunglasses were released in 2007, consumers were appalled by the awkward controls, ugly appearance, and most of all, by the hefty $495 price-tag. This awful invention should most certainly be featured on the Mashoid Website list of Top 10 Worst Christmas Presents to Receive.

Twitter Peek

Do the designers of this single-purpose device not understand that we don’t want to be chained to just one social media site, and that if consumers are going to spend a lot of money, it isn’t going to be on something that allows us only to check Twitter feeds? Obviously not, because the Twitter Peek was released in 2009 allowing users access to just 20 characters per Twitter feed until you pressed to view the entire feed. Twitter fanatics could purchase the device for $199 outright, or $99 with a $7.99 per month fee thereafter. Smartphones were already available by 2009 and so this was a slightly redundant device for those wanting access to more than one app.

USB Pet Rock

It is a rock, plugged into your PC via a USB port. Apparently, it was just an attention-seeking device as it did absolutely nothing. The makers encouraged buyers to plug the rock into their computer and make up stories about it when anyone asked why you have rock plugged into your computer. It drew no power from your device and had no purpose. The USB Pet Rock cost around $20.

There are plenty of devices that didn’t make this list, which goes to show that there are people out there who don’t grasp the fact that just because you have an idea, you don’t have to make it a reality.